Baby #2- Hospital was full 😳

Quick baby backstory- first baby came at 38 weeks 02/14/18. Had contractions went to the hospital and was 5 cm dilated and admitted around 2 pm. I had an epidural around 7 cm and baby was born at 12:28 am Valentine’s Day. They had to break my water. I later learned my mom had to have all births water broken at the hospital.

Second baby- born pretty much exactly 2 weeks early again! Two days before Halloween I saw the doctor and was 3 cm dilated, 50% effaced and at -2 station.

Halloween night we took our 20 month old trick or treating. Got him to bed and our county was having storms. We were under tornado warning. Warnings were over and I went to the bathroom, my water had broken and there was a slight gush it was just after 9. Mentally I thought “there is no way this is happening. My water doesn’t break on it’s own...” There weren’t any contractions. i called triage and they told me to come in. I quickly took a shower and got clothes on. My mom was staying with us due to a false alarm earlier in the week. Handed her the monitor kissed my son goodbye and we headed out. We got to our hospital around 10:10 pm. They were completely full! No L&D or triage rooms available. I am a fairly active individual and decided to just walk to help manage the pain. My contractions on the way to the hospital were about 3-4 minutes apart. In the hospital they were about 1-1.5 minutes apart. Another lady who came in after me said her contractions were about 3 minutes apart....within 5 minutes got to the back because she needed to use the restroom and ended up having the baby in the triage bathroom area. 😳 I began to get nervous. Around 11 pm, I pushed at the front area to be seen. They didn’t have a triage room they had an old closet with a bed for emergencies. I was like “yes please! I just want someone to exam me.” We get to the room and it’s a mad house! Finally I’m being hooked up and a doctor comes in to check me, it’s about 11:35 pm. The doctor tells me I’m 8 cms, 90% effaced and at zero station. I told her that I knew things were crazy but if at all possible I would like an epidural. She told me with how calm I was at 8 cm I would be fine without one. Time to have a baby. By the time they get me set up and move me to a triage room it’s almost 11:50 pm the contractions are there I’m trying to keep the baby in until the doctor comes in to deliver. At this point it would be too hard to sit up and still to have the epidural. I decide against the epidural, look at my husband and say “let’s do this! Let’s find out if it’s a boy or girl!” (Mind you I had nightmares for months that this baby would come so fast that either my husband would miss it or I wouldn’t get an epidural. Hahahaha). The doctor came in and gave a refresher course at 11:56 pm. At 11:58 pm I started pushing not knowing if we would have another holiday baby or not. At 12:04 am on November 1st our second boy was born at 6 lbs and 12.6 ozs. Absolutely perfect! I can’t believe I did it without an epidural. I was blown away that my water broke on it’s own and that the baby came so quickly! There wasn’t any tearing and hardly any blood because everything was so great they let us leave the hospital early. We couldn’t wait to get back home to our toddler.

Benjamin at home 4 days old.